Iran: Budget woes once again

President Hassan Rouhani has hit some early difficulties in trying to win approval for his budget for Iranian year 1398, which starts on 21 March 2019, in events which echo last year’s problems. The cabinet approved the budget on 2 December. It was expected to be submitted to the Majlis-e Shura-ye Eslami (parliament) for approval soon after, but the government has had to delay this after Rahbar (Supreme Leader) Ali Khamenei reportedly stepped in to demand changes.